Sunday, September 11, 2011

O'Connor Again? UF Grovels

Sandra Day O'Connor is, again, visiting the UF. I think she must be on the lecture circuit more than any former member of the Supreme Court. Does she wait by the phone for our call?

It's ironic that UF rolls out the red carpet for her. Her shock at the possibility that Gore would win Florida in 2000 election is well documented. Bush v. Gore was easily one of the Modern Court's most unprincipled decision and she telegraphed her vote before she heard the arguments. It was a vote that essentially said we are terrified of knowing how Florida actually voted.

Then we had the the Bush wars, the war on the environment, Supreme Court appointments that turn back the clock, and the economic melt down that seems never to stop. The whole thing illustrates how we grovel around high placed people even when they tell us their ideology trumps our fundamental rights. People always complain that law schools are populated by liberals. They are right but, as the O'Connor visits illustrate, they are elitist liberals without an ounce of conviction.

The 2000 election also makes me think of the Florida Nadar voters whose little snit made it close enough that any of this mattered.

3 comments:

AtheistATLLawyer said...

"Liberals" that don't give a shit that they are ruining the lives of their recent graduates.

Yay! I'm a lawyer! I'm making 10k a year! I sure wish law school would've taught me SOMETHING.

Maybe then I wouldn't be a fucking solo on foodstamps?

But hey, don't worry, my "University" counts me as employed.

Hah.

Nando said...

Thank you for having the guts to state this, Jeffrey. Most academic liberals have ZERO conviction. When John G. Roberts, as chief of The Supremes, visited my law school, Drake University rolled out the red carpets for him.

His talk was uninspired, and I am being polite. He seems to be a nice man. Notice how often successful corporate lawyers are bland, inoffensive, "nice" men?!

Prior to my time, Drake Law School hosted Antonin Scalia. As Professor James Albert explained to my Admin Law class: "Scalia went ape-shit because someone forgot to bring in his favorite imported Italian cheese. He was rude to students and professors." (Then again, that appears to be par for the course, with this angry former academic.)

Clarence Thomas, who is about as reflective and thoughtful as a Mack truck, also visited Drake - before I attended the school. On his last visit, he also taught a week-long course. Keep in mind that Scalia and Thomas had serious COIs, but did not recuse themselves from Bush v. Gore. (To be fair, everyone on the court had a COI, in this political matter; this is evidenced by their vote along ideological lines.) For "some reason," these "states' rights" advocates did not hesitate to involve the highest federal court in a state matter, i.e. Florida voting procedures.

In sum, several "law professors" at Drake held these men up as rock stars and celebrities. This is BEYOND shameful. Apparently, they are okay with their role in selecting George to the Oval Office.

Anonymous said...

Are you complaining about Nader voters? Gore incredibly uninspiring. I can see why liberals would support a third party candidate that has a proven track record for not just talking about his convictions, but actually acting on them.

The real problem is campaign finance laws. The amount of capital that you need to run a presidential election makes it impossible for a third party candidate to win.

As long as we have this 2-party system/ mentality in this country, I think our government will continue to operate dysfunctionally.